For those of you that don’t already know..........every single snap on this website is taken from one place -

our garden in Above Town, Dartmouth, Devon, England

Wednesday  9th July 2025 5.30pm

Dolphins back in the Dart.

A school of Risso dolphins popped in for a brief visit.

Loads more to see here, and even more inside. Just click any pic.

As always, a few taster pix on this front page, with hundreds more inside the various albums.

Click any pic to reach all that month's pix.

TVFTDO is a unique record of life in, on, around and above the wonderful river Dart.

24-05-2025 - 16:01:26

Superyacht Alice, 34 metres long and looking very sleek has popped in. A crew member led the way.

24-05-2025 - 16:03:34

Whilst the crew brought the craft in to port, others stood back.

Could that be one careful owner ?

25-05-2025 - 01:03:21

Fine drizzle made the obligatory View From The Dartmouth Office night shot a bit of a lottery.

Not exactly a jackpot winner, but passable. More inside, click the pic.

25-05-2025 - 07:48:36

Yet again a member of the crew leads the way as Alice set off. Unless it's the captain's way of dealing with a personal hygene problem.

(Do I need to explain that that is a joke?)

30-05-2025 - 21:12:35

This is really a bit of a joke. If I had really wanted to see the English Riviera Airshow I should have gone to the English Riviera Airshow and not stayed at home over seven miles away and hope to be able to take a snap.

But take a snap I did. This the Fireflies display duo. It's helped by them attaching fireworks to their wings. Crazy folk.

30-05-2025 - 21:07:35

They are actually performing along Paington's seafront. It was only as they gained altitude that there was sight of them from Dartmouth.

30-05-2025 - 20:59:15

The first display was from the Spitfire was far harder to spot.

Mind you, the sight of flames coming from City of Exeter (G-IRTY) would have been very worrying.

28-05-2025 - 18:29:29

We had our own air display in Dartmouth earlier in the week.

These two Defence Helicopter Flying School choppers landed at BRNC, but not before some accidental display shape were on show.

Worth looking inside the May album to see one of them departing and disappearing in the mist the following morning.

29-05-2025 - 17:27:02

The next day also had a welcome visit from this RAF Chinook. Nice and low. Just not nice and slow.

29-05-2025 - 17:27:08

The contrails off the rotor blades of ZH900 were interesting. To me at least.

01-06-2025 - 14:21:07

G-IRTY is a Spitfire IX built in 1943 and restored with a polished aluminiun finish.

A fabulous sight even at a distance. G-IRTY warmed up with a couple of practice loops way over the Daymark.

So slightly closer than the Airshow display area.

01-06-2025 - 12:18:37

There are a quite a few Red Arrow display pix inside. None will be as good as any taken others in Paignton.

But even at this distance there are still some interesting angles.

01-06-2025 - 12:12:31

I think there were two different displays going on here.

31-05-2025 - 14:42:28

After their proper display the crew of the Lancaster flew over BRNC and then down river.

Great sight. Great sound. Evocative.

31-05-2025 - 14:42:28

There was no sign of a gunner in the centre turret. But if there was, they were getting themselves comfortable and patriotic.

01-06-2025 - 14:38:15

The Memorial Flight arrival at Paignton was via Dittisham.

I and the camera are in Dartmouth.

02-06-2025 - 14:34:23

Enough of the air show, back to the more mundane bits of life: Kingswear construction.

And there is enough of that going on. So here's an update on Inverdart.

Nice stonework I thought.

Actually there are more display pix from an earlier posting (just a few shots down).  

01-06-2025 - 19:29:29

After a dry day for the Sunday display at teh English Riviera Air Show there was a very quick shower that produced a decent double.

31-05-2025 - 13:07:29

Two Dart RNLI callouts in a couple of hours. Here's the first one, a motor cruiser which had suffered a power failure.

Here you see the Atlantic class ILB towing the stricken craft pack to town.

01-06-2025 - 10:43:06

Not sure if this is worrying or not.

No seals in residence for nearly two weeks.

The cormorant is nice enough, but no real substitute.

10-06-2025 - 22:22:45

Moonstone sits steady in the river Dart at Dartmouth all lit up.

Relaunched less than two weeks ago, the luxury ship travelled first to London and then came here to Dartmouth.

Many more shots, both night and day of Moonstone to be found inside the June album. Just click the pic.

10-06-2025 - 11:41:06

You don't have to Google too much to identify who bought the boat.

This guy looks proud enough to be an owner.

10-06-2025 - 11:46:28

This chap looked totally disinterested in Dartmouth seemingly only wanting to look at his phone.

And then I realised exactly what he was doing.........

10-06-2025 - 12:08:17

.......he was piloting a drone as the ship came into port.

In this shot it appears to be checking up on the captain and the pilot on the bridge.

10-06-2025 - 16:01:07

Just a few weeks old and already Moonstone's hull was in need of a clean.

Mind you, some parts of the hull were shiny shiny reflecting well on the work of the crew.

10-06-2025 - 19:00:15

Arriving a day earlier was this craft, Bluebird. Known as a chase boat, and attached (not literally) to Moonstone.

The chap in orange seemed keen to snap his new toy. His big new toy.

10-06-2025 - 19:03:38

The chase boat circled Moonstone.

It's a Vanquish VQ55 boat. Capable of 55 knots, the internet tells me.

08-06-2025 - 11:18:40

A medical emergency brought one of the Devon Air Ambulances to Kingswear. G-DAAS landed at the end of Waterhead Creek.

The two medics aboard grabbed their backpacks and headed for the patient

who after treatment was taken away by a conventional, four wheeled ambulance.

The pic shows the helicopter on departure. Loads more pix inside the June album. Click the pic.

08-06-2025 - 11:18:45

Waterhead Creek Park was a convenient landing zone.

04-06-2025 - 12:02:53

Cruise ship Hebridean Sky popped in. As it turned around up by the Dart Marina Hotel, I operated the camera via a remote control.

And then I got an assistant.

08-06-2025 - 05:32:19

Not sleeping well, so was up in time to see the sun rise. Extraordinarily red in colour as it crested the Kingswear horizon.

Two days later the news had reports that dust from forest fires in Canada were creating red sunrises.

08-06-2025 - 05:32:33

This is where that red sun rises (for us) in June.

09-06-2025 - 13:41:53

Someone on Facebook has named these appendages 'Bat Ears". Well I can't think of a better name.

09-06-2025 - 16:42:13

TS Royalist popped in once again. And it wasn't hanging about.

09-06-2025 - 13:41:53

The stone workers at Inverdart have really got a move on.

07-06-2025 - 16:37:12

Yet another rail tour arrived this weekend, but the steam loco due to operate from Taunton to Kingswear was taken out of service.

So this extra smart diesel Andania stood in.  More fully known as: Bachman 32-487SF Class 40 Diesel D213 Andania.

Those in the know, consider Andani to be diesel royalty. King good to see.

09-06-2025 - 07:55:04

My own favourite train is the little work crane used by the crews for track repairs. Got big lungs too, that horn is extremely loud.

On a separate note, last week I drove past those former public conveniences seen here on Bridge Road and there was a surveyor at work.

So hopefully news soon of future plans.

06-06-2025 - 12:28:41

Kingswear Castle is back from Old Mill Creek - and the boiler is being tested.

Cruises soon ?

03-06-2025 - 18:07:34

The boat in the foreground is Big Spirit, a somewhat famous yacht. It once fell off its cradle at a Plymouth boatyard, making the national press.

It's currently without a mast and has a huge patch over its port side.

But the lifeboat racing up behind is heading elsehere.

PREVIOUSLY ON TVFTDO

10-06-2025 - 22:20:29

The yacht sitting behind Moonstone is a bit of a beauty itself. Step forward please, all 24 metres of Karibu.

10-06-2025 - 11:45:35

Here is Moonstone arriving in port passing Kingswear, that extra seven meters or so, probably makes all the difference.

09-07-2025 - 12:47:24

An early alert allowed me to snap a fair few pix of a school opf dolphins which came in the river this morning.

Possibly as many as twenty although they split into two groups.

They entered the river twice, likely chasing food.

09-07-2025 - 12:58:59

One of the two groups came right into the harbour. This buoy is the middle of the mainstream moorings. It is level with the town jetty.

Yes, you have to search for the fin. Looks rather like an orca.

09-07-2025 - 12:28:43

They were Risso dolphins, bigger than your common or garden Danny dolphin.

These made quite a splash without coming out of the water as much.

Inside the July Album you can see more pix. I managed to snap eight in one frame.

03-07-2025 - 11:28:16

I had been dispairing that we hadn't seen dolphins for a year or more when a TVFTDO spotter called to say that cruise ship Spirit of Discovery was passing close to the shore.

And what is that in front of its bow? Yep, a dolphin.

03-07-2025 - 11:28:40

Sage cruise ship Spirit of Discovery was indeed close to the shore.

09-07-2025 - 06:42:54

The seal pontoon has been empty for about six weeks.

To be more exact, it's been vacant every time I've looked.

Finally, on this morning we have a resident.

13-06-2025 - 12:36:03

BRNC exercises in the river once again.

These two chaps with guns are roleplaying.

They are impersonating "butter-wouldn't-melt-in-our-mouth" characters and are pretending to surrender.

17-06-2025 - 09:37:32

Different guy. Same role.

17-06-2025 - 16:00:59

Presumably there are team roles for some.

These have the peculiar monniker of 'Metropolis Union Group'.

Mugs by another name.

04-07-2025 - 17:43:18

Thjis is Angus Collins. He is attempting the first mon-stop, single handed row around Britain.

So whilst moored up in Dartmouth awaiting better weather he couldn't get off or accept assistance.

Or wave at me.

30-06-2025 - 10:11:37

Seriously, people drive this van.

And keep a straight face.

Seen on a Kingswear building site, which doesn't exactly narrow down the location.

04-07-2025 - 17:30:58

Border Force cutter Seeker popped in. It looked like dinner was going to be full dress kit.

04-07-2025 - 17:53:42

No sooner had the boot moored than it deployed its rib with three crew - wearing all black overalls, and then they headed off to Darthaven.

04-07-2025 - 18:11:16

Where they inspected a few boats.

17-06-2025 - 18:52:20

High up on the hill over Hoodown, farmers were gathering in the hay, baling it up with this amazing contraption.

17-06-2025 - 18:33:11

There were three tractors, so three drivers.

Probably not Jeremy, Caleb and Gerald.

09-07-2025 - 10:59:32

Dart Harbour held a training exercise in case of an oil spillage (or suchlike).

They did it to music. It went, Boom boody-boom boody-boom boody-boom.

Boody-boom boody-boom boody-boom-boom-boom.

Sincere apologies to all involved, it was a serious matter, not to be joked abaout.

But Goodness Gracious Me.

23-06-2025 - 11:50:41

Above Town has had new yellow lines painted.

The road is seven foot wide for much of its length.

30-06-2025 - 14:08:32

How to avoid the wrong sort of leaves on the line.

02-07-2025 - 17:50:16

Here's one chap who could do with that long [pole in the pic above.

Every sailor will comiserate.

In the end, this crew had to move to the RDYC pontoon and climb the dinghy rack to reach the errant canvas.

30-06-2025 - 14:53:25

Just two hours later.

30-06-2025 - 12:43:45

The Daymark had its head in the clouds.

30-06-2025 - 08:25:54

Dewdrops on a cobweb on a box bush.

In our garden.

30-06-2025 - 11:05:50

There's a large scaffold 'tent' being built just along from us. In the background you can see the next one along the road too.

Inthe interests of fairness, I should point out, our scaffolding came down two weeks ago. We never had a roof on it though.

29-06-2025 - 10:13:08

Very little of interest in the air these last few weeks.

So you'll have to make do with Royal Navy Merlin J118 as it flies down river.

17-06-2025 - 18:58:06

Towing practice for the RNLI. The smaller craft is 'towing' the larger Atlantic class Inshore LifeBoat.

Right on target.

03-07-2025 - 07:44:40

Someone in Kingswear was watering their garden.

Move over Bellagio, you have competition.

02-07-2025 - 13:02:08

And finally: it could be Monaco, or Saint Tropez.

Guess again. It's Dartmouth. And Kingswear.